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Bebop Spoken There

Branford Marsalis: "As ignorance often forces us to do, you make a generalisation about a musician based on one specific record or one moment in time." - (Jazzwise June 2023).

The Things They Say!

Hudson Music: Lance's "Bebop Spoken Here" is one of the heaviest and most influential jazz blogs in the UK.

Rupert Burley (Dynamic Agency): "BSH just goes from strength to strength".

'606' Club: "A toast to Lance Liddle of the terrific jazz blog 'Bebop Spoken Here'"

The Strictly Smokin' Big Band included Be Bop Spoken Here (sic) in their 5 Favourite Jazz Blogs.

Ann Braithwaite (Braithwaite & Katz Communications) You’re the BEST!

Holly Cooper, Mouthpiece Music: "Lance writes pull quotes like no one else!"

Postage

15491 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 512 of them this year alone and, so far, 133 this month (May 31).

From This Moment On ...

June
Thu 01: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 01: Thursday Night Prayer Meeting @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Donations.
Thu 01: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Thu 01: Jake Leg Jug Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Thu 01: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 02: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 02: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 02: Joseph Carville Trio @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 02: Claire Martin & Her Trio @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 7:30pm. £25.00., £20.00. Feat. Jim Mullen, Alex Garnett & Jeremy Brown.
Fri 02: Guy Davis + Michael Littlefield & Scott Taylor @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. Doors 7:30pm. Blues double bill.
Fri 02: Anders Ingram @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Blind Pig Blues Club. Country blues. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sat 03: Newcastle Record Fair @ Northumbria University, Newcastle NE8 8SB. 10:00am-3:00pm. Admission: £2.00.
Sat 03: Pedigree Jazz Band @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 03: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Sue Ferris. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 03: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free.
Sat 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 03: Papa G's Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sun 04: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm.
Sun 04: Central Bar Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00-4:00pm. £5.00. The Central Bar Quintet plays Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Colossus. Featuring Lewis Watson.
Sun 04: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 04: Struggle Buggy + Michael Littlefield @ Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues.
Sun 04: Swinging at the Cotton Club: Harry Strutters' Hot Rhythm Orchestra @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.
Sun 04: Richard Jones Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 04: Jam No. 18 @ Fabio's Bar, Saddler Street, Durham. 8:00pm. Free. All welcome. A Durham University Jazz Society event.

Mon 05: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 06: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 06: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. House trio: Stu Collingwood (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Sid White (drums).

Wed 07: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 07: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 07: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 07: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Monday, February 03, 2020

Joe McPhee Trio @ Bridge Hotel, Newcastle - Feb. 2

Joe McPhee (tenor sax); John Pope (bass); Paul Hession (drums).

Some meaningful drum effects, bass joins in, McPhee looks contemplative. He's an imposing figure. The heat intensifies, Joe remains impassive then, as Pope and Hession fade, the man of the hour blows a long note. He blows another and another followed by a few more. We're on the edge of our seats awaiting the killer punch...

It comes! Wham! Bang! The squeaks and the squalls, the notes that Adolphe Sax never dreamt his invention was possible of, the phrases that maybe Trane would have gasped at.


Sanity returns for awhile as Pope takes us on a short melodic interlude (remember that word - melodic -  you won't hear it again,)

McPhee is quite an amazing player, at times he appeared to be singing and playing saxophone at the same time! Is that possible? With Joe it is!

Hession attempts to saw his ride cymbal in half with a violin bow. the cymbal remains intact and the overall sound is, amazingly, very effective. Pope does some bowing on bass. The mood is quite sublime ...
... but not for long!

This time Joe isn't reaching for the moon he's heading for some outer galaxy that even Sun Ra never knew about then, just like that, we're back down to Earth for a few bars of serenity. But not for long though, we're soon back at the races. This isn't the Derby or the National, not even the Indy 500 but a race without a finish line - phew!

And so, after half an hour, the opening improvisation ended.

More intriguing sounds  followed. Three virtuoso players reaching out to the parts your average jazzer never reaches. The trick is to imagine that you'd never ever heard jazz/music/whatever before and that this was your first experience of jazz or whatever name it goes under - you may be pleasantly surprised.

I opted out after the first set which was no reflection on the performers but rather my own inability to take in what I'd already heard - I needed to reflect...

The sold-out house showed their appreciation by applauding vociferously reminding me how, back in my RAF days I was the only one who marched in step.

I may not yet have quite reached Damascus but it's getting closer...

As a footnote, I must add that McPhee is a fantastic player in his chosen idiom and all the more impressive in that he's blowing that horn with new dentures although  this also decreed that trumpet playing was off the agenda.

And, in case you think I've got tunnel vision - Pope and Hession were equally important both guys were right on the money. Hession is more than a drummer or even that highfalutin title percussionist - he's a musician!
Lance

1 comment :

David Gosling said...

Couldn't agree more and and it's a pity I missed you.And that you missed a great second set too.

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